Author(s): Tesfamariam Shimekit, Jeilu Oumer PhD
Graduate employability enhancement is becoming a high priority in Ethiopian universities. Significant numbers of students are facing difficulty in getting employment in the labor market. This study examined the extent of graduate employability enhancement policies, strategies in place, and actions taken. For this purpose, a mixed research approach was employed, where six public universities and twelve industries were selected randomly and purposively respectively. A total of 324 final year students and 121 instructors were randomly selected from the public universities using simple random and comprehensive sampling techniques respectively. Additionally, six presidents, four career center heads, and 12 department heads were included purposively for the study. A total of 154 employers were randomly selected and 18 long-time unemployed graduates were contacted. Moreover, two heads of professional associations and seven industry heads were included in the study. The data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, document review, analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis techniques. The findings of the study indicated that although there are various policies and strategies in place to address employability both in higher education and in the labor market, there is lack of coordination and integration between the education system and the labor market as well as poor actions. Finally, the study concluded that the policies, strategies, and actions in place were not satisfactory to enhance the employability of the graduates. Thus, policymakers in higher education and the labor market should work cooperatively to improve the design and integration of effective policies and strategies that can enhance graduate employability